Manchester based Nik Denton is one of those people that could be descried as a walking encyclopedia of hardhouse, and its easy to see why. He has been involved in, and evolved with the scene for well over a decade as a clubber, DJ, producer and, for the last eight years, the driving force behind Toolbox Recordings. Nik became hooked on hard dance scene as a regular punter at the mother-ship club of all things hardhouse Trade. From those humble beginnings on the dance-floor Nik has firmly established himself to be one of the matriarchs of the industry.

Manchester based Nik Denton is one of those people that could be descried as a walking encyclopedia of hardhouse, and its easy to see why. He has been involved in, and evolved with the scene for well over a decade as a clubber, DJ, producer and, for the last eight years, the driving force behind Toolbox Recordings. Nik became hooked on hard dance scene as a regular punter at the mother-ship club of all things hardhouse Trade. From those humble beginnings on the dance-floor Nik has firmly established himself to be one of the matriarchs of the industry.

As a DJ, he's as versatile as you can be, from warm-up funk-esque to full on filth and everything in-between. To watch him deliver a set is akin to watching a craftsman take extreme pride and care to create the most intricate piece of contemporary art. Nik is a complete natural behind the decks as he delivers crowd pleasing performances, no matter the environment, or time; he has an almost supernatural ability to accurately read the minds and wants of his audience and a skill clearly learnt from watching and appreciating the first generation of hard-house DJs. No wonder then that Nik Denton's name appears on some of the biggest line-ups; 2008 saw appearances at the renowned Tidy Weekender, Vicious Circle nights, the Tony De Vit memorial night and of course Trade where he has been a resident for three years.

Off the decks, Nik is a prolific producer and astute businessman; his own award winning Toolbox Recordings was voted best label of 2008 and is a perfect vehicle to showcase his awesome production talent. Meanwhile as a promoter he has more than proved himself with the highly successful Coalition. 2008 may well have been Nik's busiest of his career, but 2009 promises to surpass that; he has already been commissioned for a number of high profile production projects including remixes for Tidy, Fireball, Carbon, Vicious Circle, Spinball, Deprivation and Kung Fu Wax.

He's also been in the studio with more sessions planned with the likes of Lucy Fur, Scott Fo Shaw and Ben Stevens. On the DJing front his popularity continues to soar and is the newest artist to join an elite group to become a Twist resident. Toolbox continues to go from strength as it evolves to keep ahead of the market; Toolkit is the labels new bi monthly two CD offering of mixed and unmixed material. In a highly competitive marketplace only those that work hard, evolve and exceed expectations will survive. Nik Denton is already ticking those boxes.